The cash and stock deal, expected to close early next year, would value Kayak at $40 a share, with Priceline paying about $500 million in cash and $1.3 billion in equity and assumed stock options. Kayak went public at $26 per share.

The VCs are under a 180-day lockup post-IPO so they couldn’t sell even if they wanted to. Sitting tight, however, paid off.

General Catalyst, the largest shareholder, holding 26.7% of the company’s outstanding stock after the IPO, stands to reap about $417 million from its 10.4 million shares.

Sequoia would make about $252 million, Accel about $195 million and Oak about $166 million.

It’s been a long road for investors. Kayak got its first round, led by General Catalyst, back in 2004. And the company’s IPO sat on the runway for months after Kayak filed its paperwork in November 2010.

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